Twelve
by alohamora080
Summary: Twelve moments, depicting the lives of Fleur and Louis Weasley, and the bond they share.


**May 12th**

**2007**

"Are you sure?" Bill breathed.

"Oui, ze Healer says zat 'ee will be 'ere in nine months," Fleur smiled nervously up at her husband.

Bill's face broke into a wide grin. Then, he frowned. "Wait—he? How—how do you know—?"

Fleur looked down at her stomach, brows furrowing slightly. "I don't…yet. I just—well, I 'ope—"

Bill took her hand and squeezed it, leaning forward to plant a kiss on her cheek. "So do I."

Fleur beamed at him.

**January 12th**

**2008**

"Bonjour, mon chéri," Fleur murmured, scooping her wailing son up from his crib and brushing her lips to his forehead. She cooed, "Ne pleure pas, Louis. Maman est là…"

Louis stopped crying at once, gazing up at his mother with big, blue eyes.

"He loves you," Bill grinned good-naturedly from his post at the door frame.

Fleur looked up, rolling her eyes. "Don't be stupid. 'Ee loves us both equally. Right, Louis?"

Louis reached up and squeezed his mother's nose.

**August 12th**

** 2012**

"…and no witch or wizard was ever persecuted in the kingdom again," Louis finished, glancing up at his mother and sisters.

Fleur led the applause, bounding forward and engulfing her son in a tight embrace. "Oh, mon chéri, bon travail! Zat was lovely…"

"Great job, Lou," Victoire kissed her four-year-old brother's cheek.

"Yeah, good one," Dominique agreed, ruffling her brother's hair.

Louis looked delighted with himself.

"Oui, I think zat you will do well at Beauxbatons, no?" Fleur asked. "Zey are very encouraging of reading at Beauxbatons—"

"No, Mumma!" Louis squealed. "I wan'go to Hogwarts!"

Victoire and Dominique exchanged glances as Fleur's smile faded.

**April 12th**

**2013**

"Mumma, why is Dom crying again?" Louis inquired, watching his mother cooking from his habitual position upon Shell Cottage's kitchen counter. Dominique was sitting on the porch, head in hands.

Fleur looked up from the potatoes she was peeling, gazing anxiously at her daughter's hunched form through the kitchen's large window. "She eez just a little upset…Victoire eez at 'ogwarts, and Daddy 'as gone to Egypt again…she eez just feeling lonely, poor girl."

"Oh." Louis frowned. "Then, let's make her not lonely!"

Fleur smiled at Louis, patting his cheek. "What do you want to do for 'er?"

Louis looked thoughtful for a second. Then—"Let's make cookies like Nana does!"

"Bien sûr, Louis. Zat eez very thoughtful of you."

**December 12th**

**2016**

Louis grimaced from behind a copy of _Hogwarts, A History_. He looked very deep in thought…but his eyes did not move across the pages.

"Louis!" his mother's sharp voice startled him out of his reverie. "Louis—dinner!"

Louis sighed gustily, tossing the book onto the coffee table. Slowly, he got to his feet and began trudging in the direction of the kitchen.

"Louis!" Fleur appeared at the door way, looking profusely impatient. "What eez taking you so long?" She frowned. "Are you alright? You look sick—"

"I'm fine," he mumbled. "I just…sort of…miss them."

Fleur smiled sympathetically. "Two more weeks, and zey will be 'ome for Christmas. Now, come for dinner—your father and I are waiting." But when Louis looked still-disheartened, she continued, "I know zat you are too old for bedtime stories, but, 'ow about tonight, we—"

"I'm not too old," Louis interrupted softly, giving his mother a meaningful look. And she smiled, ushering him into the dining room.

**June 12th **

**2019**

Madam Malkin and Fleur stepped back simultaneously, both surveying Louis thoughtfully. Then, Madam Malkin nodded, "I think that will do, Ma'am. He looks quite dashing, if I may say so myself."

Fleur's lips twitched upward. "'Ee does, doesn't 'ee? Oui, how much for ze robes?"

As Madam Malkin scuttled to the back of the store to check for an appropriate price, Fleur stepped forward, flicking a piece of lint off of her son's robes. "I can't believe zat you're going to 'ogwarts," she sighed, leaning forward and planting a wet kiss on her son's cheek.

"Mum," Louis whined, swiping at his face. "Not here!"

Fleur seemed not to hear. "Oh, Louis, we are going to miss you so much."

"Don't worry," Louis said seriously. "I'll write every day."

Fleur rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "Don't be silly, chéri! You will be 'aving too much fun and work to write to your poor muzzer, every day!"

"Every week, then. I promise."

**February 12th**

** 2020**

_Dear Mum,_

_I'm sorry my letters have been so vague since Christmas. You were right that I wouldn't have much time to write because the teachers have been quiet intent on giving us loads of work lately. And exams are still months away!_

_Lucy and I have been going to loads of Quidditch matches lately, with Roxanne, Hugo, and Lily. Dominique and James are amazing as ever on their brooms, and Gryffindor is definitely in the lead for the Quidditch Cup again, this year. But who knows? Maybe next year I'll try out for Ravenclaw's Team._

_How's Dad? Tell him I miss him, and that I can't wait to see him during Easter._

_Lucy sends her love._

_Love,_

_Louis_

**July 12th**

**2023**

Fleur tentatively knocked on her son's bedroom door. "Louis? Louis, chéri, please come downstairs. It eez time for lunch."

Her words were greeted by a ringing silence, and Fleur sighed impatiently. From the moment he had arrived home from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters in June, her son had spent every single minute locked away in his room. He had not even made an appearance at mealtimes.

"Louis!" Fleur called again.

"Can you bring it up here?" his muffled voice came from behind the door.

Fleur was overcome by a surge of anger. "Non! Non, I will not! Now, come outside or I will come in."

There was a deep sigh from inside, and, with a click, the door opened to reveal fifteen-year-old Louis, blonde hair lank and unkempt, sporting a very somber expression.

Fleur's demanding gaze softened a fraction. "Oh, Louis, what eez the matter, chéri? Come now, tell me."

Louis crossed his arms, staring at his feet and looking as uncomfortable as a fifteen-year-old boy could possibly look. "Adrienne hasn't written back."

**March 12th**

**2025**

"I don't like zis girl," Fleur announced firmly, wrinkling her nose from behind a parchment.

She and Bill were settled comfortably at the dining table, both filing through stacks of paper. Bill, paper work from Gringotts; and Fleur, letters from her children.

"Which girl?" Bill questioned curiously, looking up from the form he was scribbling over.

"Zis…Adrienne," Fleur snapped, glaring down at Louis's latest letter from Hogwarts. "Zis girl zat Louis eez dating. You don't like 'er either, do you?"

Bill looked bemused. "Well, I haven't even met her. Why shouldn't I like her? What's she done wrong?"

Fleur seemed to struggle for words. "She's a Slytherin, Louis says."

"Fleur…Victoire was Hufflepuff, Dominique was a Gryffindor, and Louis is a Ravenclaw…if I didn't encourage inter-house unity, then I'd be a horrible father." Bill shook his head. "Now, tell me the real reason you don't like this girl."

Fleur sighed, placing the letter on the table and combing her fingers through her hair. "I—it's—well, what if—what if zey get married right out of 'ogwarts? What if she steals Louis away?"

Bill rolled his eyes, reached out and took her hand. "Fleur, she can't steal him. He'll always be our son."

Fleur was not reassured.

**September 12th**

**2027**

"Absolutely not!"

"Why not?" Louis demanded. "Give me a reason—!"

"Louis, you are only nineteen! Zat eez much too young for marriage—"

"You got married when you were twenty," Louis retorted icily. "And, in case you've forgotten, you let Victoire get married when she was eighteen!"

"Zat eez different," Fleur contended, hands on her hips. "It eez not the same as you marrying zis—what's her name—?"

"You know very well that her name is Adrienne, thank you very much." Louis's eyes narrowed. "And why isn't it the same? Mum, we've been dating for four years—!"

"Tu as dix-neuf ans!"

"So, _what_?"

Fleur rounded furiously on her husband. "Bill, s'il vous plaît, back me up! Tell 'im zat nineteen eez too young!"_  
_

Bill bit his lip, evidently stifling laughter. He shrugged helplessly at his wife. "I—er—I—I don't see why _not_—"

Louis whooped and clapped his father appreciatively on the shoulder. Fleur glared.

**November 12th**

**2028**

"Stay still, chérie," Fleur commanded. Raising her wand, she executed a complex, intricate flicking motion, and, suddenly, Adrienne's dark hair was a mass of bouncy, lively curls.

"Wow," Adrienne breathed, surveying her reflection disbelievingly in the mirror. "Is that—me?"_  
_

"Oui," Fleur smiled. "You look stunning, darling…ze perfect bride."

"Oh, thank you so much, Mrs. Weasley," Adrienne returned the smile. "And…well…thanks for letting me marry your son." When Fleur looked perplexed, Adrienne continued, "Louis told me you were against it, initially."

Fleur guiltily looked away. "I am sorry about zat. I just thought zat maybe Louis would forget about me, if 'ee had you."

"As if," Adrienne laughed. "He talks about you all the time. He admires you so much, Mrs. Weasley. He'd never forget you."

Fleur's face broke into a warm smile.

**October 12th**

**2035**

"Fleur, calm down," Bill grabbed her wrist suddenly, and she stopped pacing, glancing down at him. "Don't be so worried. Adrienne is a strong girl, she'll be fine."

Fleur blanched as a particularly nasty shriek emanated from the door to the ward outside which they were all settled. Victoire looked up from the magazine she was reading, biting her lip. Dominique shuddered.

"She eez such a sweet, delicate girl," Fleur sighed. "She shouldn't 'ave to go through—well, zat."

"And, to think," Bill declared in amusement, shaking his head, "you used to hate her."

"I didn't hate—!" But, she stopped short as the door to the ward flew open. Everyone got to their feet with bated breath as Louis stepped out, holding a tiny pink bundle in his arms. Fleur's eyes filled with tears of happiness.

"It's a girl," he was grinning madly. "Everyone, meet Fleur Adrienne Weasley."

And, Fleur felt her tears spill over as she rushed forward and hugged her son.

* * *

A little piece for My Dear Professor McGonagall's "Mother and Child" Competition. :)

Oh, by the way, to anyone who read this: in my headcanon, Victoire was born in 2000, Dominique in 2005, and Louis in 2008. Just so that nobody gets confused about ages or anything.


End file.
